Nearly 500,000 Washington state adults over 18 have not finished high school, and more than half of that number cannot speak or understand English well.

Adults who struggle to read have the toughest time landing jobs and usually are the first to be laid off. A poor family is seven times more likely to be headed by a high school dropout.

Adult Literacy Week — Oct. 19-25 — provides added exposure to the efforts of Washington’s community and technical colleges to offer better educational services to adult learners.

Green River Community College is doing its part by investing in adult literacy with training programs such as Integrated Basic Education & Skills Training.

The idea behind IBEST is to get students to transition more quickly into professional and technical programs by providing two instructors in the classroom – one a basic skills instructor, the other a professional technical faculty member.

Green River started its first IBEST program, Child Development Associate, in 2005. The program prepares students to take a national exam, which certifies them as qualified professionals able to provide childcare services out of their home or in a childcare facility.

Of the students who have completed the program, 80 percent also have passed the national certification exam and nearly 100 percent of those find a job in the field.

GRCC also has launched four other IBEST programs, including Early Childhood Education, Fundamentals of Caregiving, Community Forestry and General Office Assistant. Beginning in winter quarter, which starts Jan. 5, the college will offer three more IBEST programs: Welding, Aviation, and Autobody.

Registration for all of the IBEST programs begins in November.

For additional information on IBEST or adult literacy, call (253) 833-9111, ext. 2315.